New report finds dangerous levels of arsenic across Minnesota wells

Minnesotans are at risk of consuming dangerous levels of arsenic in their food and water, according to weekend report released by the Center for Public Integrity.

Whether there's such a thing as a safe level of arsenic is debatable, though even small amounts of the toxin have been linked to lower IQ scores in children and instances of cancer in adults. At home, researchers found that the concentration of arsenic in an
alarming number of groundwater wells exceeded 10 parts per billion --
the ceiling set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Dozens tested positive for more than 50 parts
per billion.

More depressing still, the EPA has known since at least 2008 that arsenic is far more toxic than it officially states. But the agency has been paralyzed by pesticide lobbyists and lawmakers from creating stricter drinking water
standards.

The roadblock: a single paragraph inserted into a committee report by a
member of Congress, an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity
found. The paragraph essentially ordered the EPA to halt its evaluation
of arsenic and hand over its work to the National Academy of Sciences.

The congressman, Mike Simpson, an Idaho Republican, said he was
concerned that small communities couldn't meet tougher drinking water
standards and questioned the EPA's ability to do science. But a lobbyist
for two pesticide companies acknowledged to CPI that he was among those
who asked for the delay. As a direct result of the delay, a weed killer
the EPA was going to ban at the end of 2013 remains on the market.

Judge the report for yourself. In documenting the problem, reporters looked at arsenic readings collected by
the United States Geological Survey. Minnesota was among the two states that
offered up its own data on private wells.

Mn is delineated because the state supplied data on wells. Only two states provided data. This report is great! Lets rile people up when pretty much the entire metro, where most minnesotans live, is on city water.

New? Nice regurgitated stats from a decade ago. So why do we tout the fact we are one of the healthiest states per capita in the country? With so much arsenic, don't you think we would be at the bottom. Ya, I see the poison. It's stories like this and their effect on the minds of the week and easily manipulated.

It would be interesting to see what the map would look like if MN had the same amount of data as other states, or if all the states had the same amount of data as MN. As it sits right now, it would be difficult to actually say if Minnesotans are at a higher risk or not.

Could someone explain why are the state's borders so sharply delineated? If it would be because of ag chemicals, virtually the entire midwest would be bright red. Even the forested portions of the state are red.